In order to advance cooperation with the legal professionals in Western Balkans and contribute to further improvement of knowledge in the field of freedom of expression and freedom of the media, the regional action on Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in South-East Europe prepared the 2nd issue of the periodic Bulletin on the latest developments of European Court of Human Rights case-law on freedom of expression. The bulletin aims to function as an additional tool for sharing information on new trends and developments in the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR, Court).
The Bulletin presents some of the relevant judgements delivered from August 2020 to January 2021 in the field of freedom of expression and freedom of media. In the analysed period of time, the European Court of Human Rights delivered significant judgments in different areas of Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights. The most relevant stream of case law deals with the intertwined requirements for the protection of freedom of expression and the liberty and safety of journalists and members of parliaments, especially in connection with the legitimate fight against terrorism and political violence. Other cases concerned preventive measures curbing freedom of political speech, restrictions on the access to information on matters of public interest, the protection of journalistic sources, the responsibilities of journalists and members of the judiciary in exercising their freedom of expression, and the scope of access to given media outlets to convey political opinions.
The Bulletin is available in English, Albanian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Montenegrin and Serbian and is prepared within the framework of the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022” and its regional action on “Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in South-East Europe (JUFREX)“.
